I have been away too long. We have been searching for a new home and the journey to find this place has taken our time and energy, but boy is it worth it…because now I believe this place will give that energy back ten fold. It feels like it will be a very peaceful place to be and call our home.

We are still in the middle of things, wish us luck that everything falls into place, this little peace of land has already got a hold of our heart strings. We will be busy packing, cleaning, sorting for the next month and if all goes well, we will be in our new home the first part of July.

I have been sewing a little on the side to help myself feel calm during these transitions. Here is an example. This little bag was a Mother’s day gift to my mom.

I hope that you are well, and your homes are giving you joy and peace.

Okay…wow…I’m a little in awe of how things sometimes work out. I don’t know if I believe in fate, or even if things always have a way of working out. There are many outcomes that I don’t understand, that seem unfair or wrong…but not this time!!! This time things were good, lined up in a weird and yet oddly precise way…

Some parts of this story are embarrassing for me..so I may borrow a technique from a fellow blogger….here. It seems easier to tell this as a story.

There once was a family of three, who had a dog,(which makes 4) whom they cared about, but probably didn’t spend enough time with. The mom and son would probably have let the dog have free roam of the house, but the mom knew that the other grown up in the family would have not been a happy camper with that idea.

So the dog spent her time outside. She watched the rabbits and shared her food with the many birds that flew in and just helped themselves. She was generous that way. She even forgave the people that lived in the house, that were busy, or tired or just too cold to come out and play with her in the winter time. She was a kind dog, who probably deserved a lot more. The dog discovered that she could easily clear the four foot fence and explore the neighborhood. She discovered that directly across the street was a family, with 6 kids and they stayed home all day, and their mom was their teacher.

When the dog, Shadey, got out and went to say hi to them, they invited her inside, gave her food and loved on her all day, until her family from across the street came home. Abby, who was the middle child in the family, and who could talk to animals, would walk Shadey back home. If it were the summertime, Abby would be bare footed, she says that’s the best way to be.

Well, because Shadey could jump the fence, unfortunately the family had to tether Shadey, they lived on a busy street and worried about her getting hurt or causing an auto acident, on her way to the house across the street,with the 6 kids. They tried to give her enough room to run and occasionally she could try to chase a rabbit or two…but she wasn’t free to move around, the way a dog should be.

One day, another neighbor, a little old lady, saw Shadey outside. She worried that this dog might not be warm enough. She noticed that she had a dog house, food and water…but it just didn’ t seem right. She called the animal police, or the police that deal with people and their pets. They came out to visit Shadey and the mom. They saw that Shadey had LOTS of fur, and a dog house and food and water, and were sorry that they had to make a big fuss…..but it was their job…..and really the dog might not be getting the attention she needed, on that tether. The mom was embarrassed and sad, but realized that Shadey might not be getting enough attention, and had long been sad that she was forced to tether her. The animal police suggested putting Shadey in the shed out back…that would be legal and that would fix the problem they had with Shadey being tethered . But the mom couldn’t put the dog in a dark shed all day long. That sounded awful, worse than being tied up. At least on the tether, Shadey could chase a few rabbits, see the sky and share her food with the birds. People suggested a dog run, but the Dad in the family had problems with cages, he didn’t like them, so that idea was out. A really tall fence, might work, but that cost more money than the family had.

So, the only other solution, was to find Shadey a new home, with kids and hopefully lots of room to roam around and chase rabbits. Abby, the girl across the street, the one who knew how to talk to animals, might have an idea. She knew a woman who had a horse farm…maybe Shadey could live there. The mom said okay, maybe that would be perfect. Abby came to get Shadey one day and took her to the horse farm. They had 5 dogs, 4 big ones and one small one. Shadey was confused, she missed her family, and especially missed Abby, when she left. She stayed with these people and liked the big dogs…but boy was that little dog bossy, she was always telling Shadey what to do. One day they got into an arguement, and Shadey and the little dog were very grumpy with each other. The Horse Lady decided she didn’t want Shadey to hurt the little dog so she sent her back to the family.

The mom was very sad, she worried that if she couldn’t find Shadey a new home that she might have to go to the pound. She put ads on the internet, and told everyone she knew. Shadey deserved a good home, she was so good with kids, had the patience of a saint(except with little bossy dogs) All the shelters and rescue groups she called were full, it was wintertime and lots of animals were homeless….Nothing….so the day came when the mom had to take her to the shelter, even though they said there was a 2 month waiting list, she had to see if they would take Shadey in….The thought of the pound made the mom cry and sad, and if the shelter wouldn’t take her, that was the only other alternative……..

The mom had one last idea… She gave Shadey a bath, with the good shampoo, and brushed her beautful auburn hair..Shadey was patient…….she didn’t like a bath…but if the mom said she needed one, she suffered through it…The brushing was nice though…Afterward it wasn’t so bad…she felt good to be clean and happily ran through the house with a grin on her face. The dad sat and watched sternly…grumpy he was sometimes….not always though..once he spent 3 hours brushing Shadey and giving her a bath. He hurt his neck, and so now he gets grumpy and sometimes is not very patient.

I know this is a really long story and thank you for coming this far…the end will be worth it..I have to believe it will!

So, yesterday the mom and Shadey set out…Shadey had been freshly brushed and bathed…in hopes that a clean, good smelling dog would be adopted more readily, they were set to go to the shelter and the mom hoped they wouldn’t turn them away. But maybe there might be one last thing…..

Let’s go for a walk….maybe someone out and about on Main Street might have room in their hearts and family for a big beautiful, kid friendly mutt.

No, the lady at the boutique doesn’t have room yet……she wants to open a dog rescue one day with her husband when they can buy their dream farm…..but she doesn’t have the dream farm yet. The lady at the funky jewelry store already has 4 big dogs…She says Shadey looks like a red bear, and everyone gives her a soft stroke on the head. The young men at the bike shop don’t have big enough yards. The jewelry store lady suggests the fire stattion down the street, which the mom had already thought of. Along the way, they stop at the barber shop, and the head barber says he is sorry, but he already got in trouble from his wife for bringing home 2 dogs last week.

They finally get to the fire station, and it is locked up tighter than Ft. Knox. Not gonna get to see if any burly firemen want a big burly bear of a dog………sad.

one last place….the beauty parlor…..we walk in, and tell them our story…..they laugh and say you must have been listening to our conversation. The hair stylist says she has been wanting another dog, but her husband says no…….one of the patrons…ironically a dog groomer says she may be able to help and hands me(the mom) her card.

“Come with me” she says, “if you can help me load her, I’ll show you my shop and you can tell me about her”. “I help people find homes for dogs and I try to always tell the whole story, the truth, so they aren’t surprised”. I help Shadey get situated and turn to this woman, and begin to cry, she gives me a hug…..and I am so overwhelmed with gratitude and relief, and so happy for Shadey.

She asked what kind of food Shadey eats and if she can have a small bag, so that she can mix it with Science Diet, so that Shadey can better handle it and get used to a new food. We exchange numbers, directions to her dog grooming shop and I leave Shadey with her, while I go to get her food.

I arrive at the dog groomers, an unassuming building on the outside…..but on the inside……wowza!

I walk in and notice a huge stuffed dog on the couch in the reception area…and Shadey walking behind the dog groomer like she is home, like this is where she belongs. I hear a jungle of parrot songs in the background. The woman takes me to the back and one wall of the back has been made into an aviary with 3 happy, fat parrots and two parakeets. The parrots say,”hello” and “Oh, crap!” The dog groomer says she loves having the aviary here at the shop now, because she can power hose the bottom of the cage and no more bird seed all over at home now. She also happily told me that the Macaws tail feathers(when they fall out) pay for 6 months of bird seed.

She has 6 kids, 8 big dogs and 5 birds…..her kids are trying to talk her into keeping Shadey….pray for Shadey…pray hard…Please!

One last thing…..I want to introduce Abby to the dog groomer(Dev). Both of them have such gifts with animals, it is both of their lifes work. Abby is 19 and looking for a job….even if Dev just needs an occasional asisitant…say one of the other groomers needed a day off……….am I pushing it…?

I can’t help it…I see connections everywhere…..my mom is a matchmaker(with 3 marriages to her credit, one more if you count my friend Janelle and her husband Jim)..I’m a wanna be matchmaker….

Okay, this has been cathartic and hard, and I hope you all don’t hate me too much, for not being the best pet owner. I could have done more…

I am so happy for Shadey though…she must have really good karma, or just have deserved more.

Please pray for her, as my mom says, put a white light around her, that the right home comes to her….maybe even with Dev and her 6 kids, 8 dogs and 5 birds.

the leaves are bigger than my head……this one really was trying to take over the world!

Okay, I admit it, I am not always as observant as I need to be…who knows how long I might have gone without noticing the HUGE plant taking over the back half of my backyard….?

I used to have a compost pile, before my husband turned it into a brush pile……the pile of twigs and small tree limbs is almost as tall as I….so it’s been a while since I actually put anything out there to actually compost….. I had some cool squash (Turban and acorn…and maybe pumpkin) that I’d used for decoration and then but them out to enrich the soil. They decided to do what was natural and grow.

Holy cow!, I had no idea a squash leaf could be THAT large. I have a plant growing over the brush pile, onto the chain link fence that is probably 5 feet wide and ten feet long, All watered from the rain. I was so impressed by the resilience of nature….the keep on keepin’ on of Mother Nature.

I had a nice visitor today…..been feeling a little hectic around here lately. So it was nice to have such a peaceful beauty come to say hello. This little critter spent a long time, for a butterfly, hanging around my back deck. I was so happy to have my camera so handy!

Therly’s little boy was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia yesterday. He is doing much better..Thank goodness. I have been reminded lately how well western medicine works and it has humbled me…I feel a little foolish with my rush to judge in a former post. I still wish we did some things differently, but I have been blessed by so many of the ways we do things right. Thank you, America’s medical staff! I applaud you!

Here are some cute feet to end this post with. They are both so happy to have each other for neighbor’s. They fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but mostly they are grateful for one another.